What structural challenges are facing African researchers today?
The past few weeks of protests against a proposed punitive finance bill in my home country of Kenya have been amazing to witness.
This got me thinking about the structural challenges that many African researchers face in building their careers on the continent.
In fact, facing many of these challenges as an early career researcher is what prompted me to set up the Africa Research Hub website.
Top 3 Structural challenges facing African Researchers
1. Lack of funding
Lack of funding is probably the single biggest challenge facing African researchers.
Many Africans often end up funding their own Masters and PhD studies because of the limited number of full scholarships that can cover these studies.
Even where the funding is available, it often only covers research and does not offer a package that can allow a person to study full-time.
I myself paid my own tuition fees and ended up looking for different grants and fellowships to support my fieldwork and allow me to attend conferences to disseminate my work.
This means that many African students end up holding a full-time job while doing their studies, delaying their completion time and compromising the quality of their work since they don’t have time to dedicate to the research.
In addition, the agenda for the little funding is decided externally, for example by Western Organizations that offer sponsorship for research on the continent.
Even where the funders engage local researchers, it is always a select few who can benefit.
Because these few are fighting for a small pool of available funding, they are more likely to join projects they either don’t fully believe in or which they would not have chosen if it was up to them.
2. Poor supervision/ mentorship for research growth
Another major challenge facing African researchers if lack of mentorship and poor supervision.
We have all heard horror stories of people doing their Masters and PhDs with little to no support from their supervisors.
This is partly because lecturing is underpaid in many countries on the continent, and lecturers often have to pursue several consultancies and projects to supplement their income.
Even a supervisor with the best intentions can have problems keeping up with all the demands of their job, their side gigs and the students who need their attention.
The young researchers may also be negatively impacted by poor attitudes of some supervisors who either ignore/ belittle younger researchers.
This can stifle innovation since students are not free to pursue their own fresh ideas with supervision from an experienced researcher.
Many young researchers also lack access to mentors who can guide them in their research careers.
While there are some programmes such as the Mawazo Institute now coming up to support early career researchers by offering training and mentorship, these are few and extremely competitive.
Research and Writing Skills:
Some researchers struggle with research methodologies and academic writing, which are crucial for producing high-quality research.
Many undergraduate programs fail to equip their students with the skills that they need to carry out high-quality research.
Again, funding issues can be a cause of this when labs are not well-equipped, or Universities have no money to send students for fieldwork and other opportunities to develop practical skills.
Many graduate students thus face an extra hurdle to carrying out their studies successfully.
3. Lack of Motivation Among Peers
The lack of a supportive and motivating research community can also pose a challenge to an early career researcher.
The PhD and Masters journey can be extremely lonely if you don’t have a supportive community around you.
Because of the challenges described above, African Masters and PhD students can find it hard to make time to connect with their peers.
Some people never even get to see their classmates again once coursework is finished, since everyone is busy working or hustling to make ends meet.
This means that as an African student, you can miss out on having that group of people to bounce ideas off of, or share ways to overcome challenges.
What are some other challenges facing African Researchers in your view? Tell us below!

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